The Snow, Beautiful
by Kiwi Ootori
Summary: Juvia is feeling down, and it's up to Gray to help her up. Gray and the weather.


**I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters, although I wish I did. They're all Mashima's. Anyways, please enjoy~**

It was a rainy morning and at the guild it was strangely quiet. Lucy and Natsu were dripping wet, their plan to go on a job forgotten. Levy sat in a corner, happily reading a book, Gajeel reading over her shoulder as they drank their hot chocolate. Elfman and Evergreen talked in low voices, not yelling for once. Mira stood at the bar, chatting with Laxus and Freed about the upcoming guild activities. Wendy sat at a table with Romeo and the exceeds, playing a board game they'd found. Everyone was quietly going about their business, even Natsu was quiet, an unheard of thing.

Outside in the rain, Juvia came up to the guild sadly, her umbrella shading her from the pouring rain. Even as she walked, she didn't want to be there. The rain was her fault. Of course it was her fault. The rain was her curse. She stopped and few feet away from the guild. It was quiet, way too quiet. It didn't seem right. Why had she cried herself to sleep last night? It wouldn't have rained if she hadn't, she knew. She needed to start thinking of the guild, the rain was dreary, they must hate it. She hated the rain. It wouldn't listen when she willed it to stop. It wouldn't leave her alone. It only left when she was with her Gray-sama. Of course, he wasn't hers, but she liked to think of it that way. Sadly, she admitted he was probably much closer to Lucy and some of the other guild girls than her. He probably thought of her as a stalker. He might even hate her! She turned around and began to walk away, nobody would miss her.

As she walked away, Gray watched from the window. He had seen her come until she was only a few feet away, only to stand there for a few minutes just staring at the guild. Then, just as he was about to go outside and get her, she had turned and walked away. He watched her go, confused at why she would turn around and leave after walking all the way there. He looked around the guild and a wave of loneliness hit him. He'd never realized how much he talked to her and how much he actually looked forward to it. Who was there to talk to? Everyone was all cozy today. Natsu and Lucy were curled up together, Gajeel and Levy were all close, even Elfman and Evergreen were getting along. He shook his head irritably. Without her there, he had no reason to stay. He made sure his clothes were still intact, grabbed his umbrella, and headed towards the door, hesitating only a second before going out into the oncoming rain.

Was it only his imagination, or was the rain coming down harder? The rain didn't really bother him, he just found it a tad bit... Dreary. It was November, and he had expected snow with the cold temperatures they were getting. He liked this kind of weather anyways, cold, crisp. He knew where he was going. Fairy Hills, where Juvia lived. The ice mage knew nobody else was there, he had seen all the women at the guild. Usually men where not allowed in Fairy Hills, but he happened to know that Jellal had been dropping in to see Erza. If Erza was to object to his visiting, he would just bring that up. But she was back at the guild with the said man, so he was safe. He stepped up to the main door, opened it quietly and stepped inside. She had gotten there only moments before, he could tell from the wet spots on the floor. Her umbrella lay beside a few others and he put his there, then closed the door and looked around. He'd been inside before with Erza, and once to bring Levy home, so he knew which room Juvia lived in. He wiped his feet and walked through the halls to the door he knew had to be hers. He rapped on the door, suddenly nervous. What the heck was he going to say? He heard someone moving around, then he heard her voice.

"Who is it?" he coughed awkwardly.

"It's Gray. May I come in?" There was hesitation, then she opened the door a bit. When she saw for sure it was him, she opened it completely.

"Why are you here?" She hurriedly added, "It's not like Juvia isn't happy to see Gray-sama!" Then, her face dropped a bit and he noticed it.

"I was afraid you didn't want to see me, you never showed up at the guild." She looked down, red tainting her cheeks.

"Gray-sama should come in," she murmured, moving to the side as a gesture that she was making room for him to come in. He obeyed and stepped into the room. She closed the door behind him and walked to the small, blue couch. "Sit down. Do you want anything to drink?" Then she muttered, "Anything to forget about the rain?" So that was it. It was the rain thing again. Now he understood. He followed her to the couch and sat down.

"I don't need anything to drink, thank you." She sat beside him, and they faced each other. She wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that she was depressed, so he decided to plunge right in. "Juvia, why did you walk all the way to the guild, then just turn around?" she looked startled.

"Gray-sama saw that?" He nodded and she bit her lip nervously, then tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away. "J-Juvia didn't feel good, that's all." But her voice broke as she said it and Gray knew that wasn't the reason.

"Both of us know that's not the real reason. Is it the rain again? Be honest with me, Juvia." She kept her head down. "You can tell me, you know that." She suddenly began to cry and the rain came down even harder.

"Juvia hates the rain! It just follows Juvia around, and nobody likes rain, so nobody likes Juvia!" The tears she'd held in for so long came out like a flood."Nobody at the guild would miss Juvia, Juvia's the reason they all have to stay inside!" Gray took a deep breath and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Juvia, you know that isn't true. You're part of the guild, you're one of us now! Of course you're missed when you're not there!" She buried her face in his shoulder, and her body shook with each sob.

"B-but you know t-the rain follows Juvia! You s-said nothing about that! E-even you said the rain is dreary!" She paused to try and catch her breath. "N-nothing good comes from the rain!" He shook his head and held her to him.

"I disagree. I did once say that rain is dreary, but without rain, many great things would not happen. Without the rain, the ice wouldn't really be here." He smiled down at her. "And if you look right outside, you'll see something good that comes from rain!" He pointed to the window and she lifted her head. Then a gasp admitted from her lips.

"Snow! But how?" He picked her up bridle-style, which caused her to blush, and carried her to the window. Snow drifted from the sky and there was already a thin blanket of white of the grass. She stared out the window in wonder and he grinned.

"See? The snow is like us. Rain and ice, two things that aren't really nice to most people, can make something beautiful when placed together. Everyone likes snow. " He let her down and she stood beside him, staring at the large flakes. Then she wiped her tears away and looked up at him with a faint smile.

"Not everyone, Gray-sama." He rolled his eyes.

"Can't please everyone, Juvia." She nodded, her gaze going back to the window.

"Um, Gray-sama, when you said it was like us... Did you mean?" He flushed suddenly, averting his eyes.

"I guess I did..." She threw her arms around him.

"Juvia is so happy now! And it's all thanks to Gray-sama.!" Instead of jumping or yelling or freaking out like he usually did, he just put his arms around her. Surprised, she looked up and he grinned down at her.

"Now that you're feeling better, how about some hot chocolate at the guild?" She smiled.

"Juvia will get her coat."


End file.
